A quick update on FPB progress in New Zealand, where the Circa team have been hard at work in spite of the America’s Cup excitement..

The Matrix deck sub assembly is almost ready for a weight check.

With weight being a critical issue in this roof area, Circa have elected to use very thin skins which are glued in place, aircraft style, to remove the otherwise certain distortion that would occur from welding.

The interior is having its insulation installed.

And bulkheads are going into place. Strips of a soft decoupling material will be placed on furring strips (timber) to which the plywood bulkhead will attach. This will reduce sound transmission through the bulkhead surfaces.

Note the slots bottom left through which wiring and plumbing will pass.

Meanwhile in the carpentry shop, the furniture building phase is nearing an end. Shown above is the framework for the stairway between decks.

This is the dining banquette.

The three FPB 64s under construction are coming along nicely. The image above is of FPB 64-10. As construction on this (and the FPB 97) winds down, the crew will shift their attention to FPB 78-1.

A small portion of the wiring in FPB 64-9.

FPB 64-8 is having its protective covers removed from finished furniture. This is a sign that launch day is near.

This entry was posted
on Monday, September 23rd, 2013 at 7:13 am and is filed under three, Wicked FPB 97.
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9 Responses to “FPB Progress In Spite of the America’s Cup”

Anthony V Says:
September 23rd, 2013 at 4:34 pm
Hi Steve,
Great to see the progress being made. RE: the Matrix deck roof. I’m concerned that the ‘hollow’ or sunken area on top for the solar panels, is going to be an area that collects water (unless the 6 or 8 panels on top are completely sealed in, but that makes replacement difficult). Is there a drain on the roof?
Cheers, Anthony

Steve Dashew Reply:September 23rd, 2013 at 7:54 pm

The Matrix deck roof is sloped for natural drainage under the solar panels.

We share lots of details, but gluing the roof panels needs to remain proprietary.

Shannon Says:
September 28th, 2013 at 12:57 am
Looking great. Those photos really show the scale & all I can say is WOW that’s big. Would it be possible to extend the upper deck so the aft deck would have more cover? The aft deck is my hangout & more cover would be nice.

Steve Dashew Reply:September 28th, 2013 at 9:40 am

The aft deck will have a large awning over it, which starts where the fixed roof ends.

Ben Dublin Says:
November 10th, 2013 at 7:17 am
Hi Steve. What is the maximum satellite dome antenna size/weight that can be accommodated on the fpb 97 mast head?
My own optimum requirements would be to have for example 1.2 m 109 kg Dual-mode C/Ku-band KVH mini-VSAT Broadband antenna.
With matching up to maximum 1.2 m 90.7 kg satellite tv antenna but the broadband antenna having fist priority size weight.

Steve Dashew Reply:November 10th, 2013 at 11:15 am

Hi Ben:
There are many tradeoffs involved including aesthetics, windage, shading of solar panels, and stability. The latter can always be compensated with tankage minimums or ballast. Todd and Mark have been through an exhaustive review of current satcome hardware for FPB 97-1 and the results indicate size may not in itself be that important. We w ill get Todd to answer you directly on this topic.